THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: Making a Splash- The RNC’s take on Design and Soft Drinks

24Feb11

“One reason for the poor quality of the brochures lies in the RNC’s assessment of its audience and their notion of design. “Your average person doesn’t think of the Republican Party as being associated with glitzy, contemporary graphic presentations,” Marcia Brown, the Director of Graphic Services says. “People don’t look at us that way, so we are very simple and just get the message out.” It is not uncommon for non-designers to associate the idea of graphic design with glitz and flash. It does seem incongruous, however, that one of the most sophisticated political organizations in the world would publish material that looks so terrible, with the purported intention of strengthening its cause.”

“We are selling a product, in a sense,” Brown says, “but people don’t look at a political product as being extravagant like a soft drink commercial. I don’t think they would trust it.” This notion that people somehow regard “political products” as being immune to the same type of promotion as beverages is echoed by the RNC’s director of communications, Ernie Mills. “Going for a more flamboyant look, for us, would be inappropriate,” he says,” We tend to take a more, well, conservative approach.”